Clinton to have farmers market

With the help of a grant from an anonymous local foundation, a farmers market will be started in the village of Clinton.

The $35,000 grant will be used to hire a part-time market man­ager to develop the market and get it up and running, said village manager Kevin Cornish. Similar to other markets in the area, the Clinton market will include produce and fruit, as well as crafts and other homemade items.

“This person will work with the chamber of commerce to create the market,” Cornish said. “The goal over the next one to three years is to become self-sufficient in that time.”

In a news release announcing the farmers market creation, organizers cited the area’s farming community and the lack of a regu­lar farmers market. A regularly scheduled farmers market would provide area growers an opportunity to sell their produce and provide residents access to locally grown products, the release said. If the market is located in downtown Clinton it would help increase pedestrian activity for the downtown businesses.

Hiring a manager for the market is the first step, Cornish said. The manager would create a market plan, contract with ven­dors and manage the operations.

Running the farmers market will be more costly initially, Cornish said, but after the market is established those costs can be greatly reduced to more manage­able levels that will hopefully allow the market to be self-sufficient. Officials are hoping to have the market in place by spring 2014.

Currently, Clinton area residents seeking farmers markets have had to travel to Manchester, Tecumseh or Adrian, Cornish said. A goal of a Clinton market is to keep as much revenue in the Clinton area as possible.